Great preparations for the campaign.
The legislature of Massachusetts agreed to furnish seven thousand men; Connecticut five thousand; and New Hampshire three thousand. These troops, great as were their numbers, when compared with the population of the country, were in the field early in May; and the transports for carrying those of Massachusetts to Halifax, were ready to sail in fifteen days after they were engaged. Near one-third of the effective men of that province, are said to have been in military service; and the taxes were so heavy that, in the capital, they amounted to two-thirds of the income of real estate.[157]
In the mother country too, the utmost activity was transfused into every department. Her fleets blocked up in the French ports the men and stores designed for Canada, and captured, on the seas, most of those which had been able to make their way into the ocean. Admiral Boscawen and General Amherst arrive.At the same time, a powerful armament, equipped with unusual expedition, sailed from her ports. Early in the spring, admiral Boscawen arrived at Halifax with a formidable fleet, and twelve thousand British troops, under the command of general Amherst.
The earl of Loudoun had returned to England, and the command of the British and American forces in the colonies, had devolved on general Abercrombie. That officer found himself at the head of the most powerful army ever seen in the new world. His whole numbers, comprehending troops of every description, have been computed by Mr. Belsham at fifty thousand men, of whom twenty thousand were provincials.
The objects of the campaign were no longer defeated by delays. The preparations for action were made during the winter, and military operations commenced in the spring.
Plan of the campaign.
Three expeditions were proposed. The first was against Louisbourg; the second against Ticonderoga and Crown Point; and the third against fort Du Quêsne.[158]
Expedition against Louisbourg.
The army destined against Louisbourg, consisting of fourteen thousand men, was commanded by major general Amherst; and the fleet, consisting of twenty ships of the line and eighteen frigates, by admiral Boscawen. On the 24th of May, the troops embarked at Halifax; and, on the 2d of June, arrived before Louisbourg.
The use made by Great Britain of her naval superiority was felt in no part of the possessions of his Most Christian Majesty more sensibly than in Louisbourg. The garrison of that important place was composed of only two thousand five hundred regulars, aided by six hundred militia. The harbour was defended by five ships of the line; one ship of fifty guns; and five frigates, three of which were sunk across the mouth of the basin.